RIP Zelda Part 1
by ChandaK562
Summary: Is Zelda dead?
1. Default Chapter Title

# **RIP Zelda Part 1**

The elderly woman pushed the front door of her house open and came in lagging a large suitcase. She had just started up the stairs to her room with the grace of a woman years younger when she heard sobbing coming from the living room.

"Willard?" she called as she put the suitcase down and slowly walked back down the stairs. "Willard, is that you?"

"She's dead," Willard Kraft whispered as his grandmother came into the living room. He was sitting on the couch in a dark brown suit with all of the lights in the room out and the curtains closed. As she sat down beside him, his grandmother could see that his eyes were red and swollen as if he had been crying non-stop for several days.

"Willard, what happened?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around her grandson. She had never seen him like this before.

"It's Zelda," Willard whispered. He couldn't believe that something this awful had happened to him. He wanted to die. "She died."

"What?" Willard's grandmother was totally shocked by this news. She had to get the facts from Willard fast. "Willard, dear, calm down and tell me exactly what happened!"


	2. Chapter 2

"It was Philip Chesler," Willard whispered. He really didn't want to talk about what had happened. Every word he said drummed the enormous loss into his head. "He killed her."

"Chesler? Isn't he the father of that annoying cheerleader?" His grandmother Harmonia muttered.

"Yes," Willard whispered. Why had he ever been so cooperative with Libby? He didn't know how exactly, but he was sure that this entire thing was his fault. Tears burned his eyes as he started to sob again. It just wasn't fair. Why did Zelda have to die? Why couldn't it have been him instead?

"Willard?" Harmonia said as she sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "What happened? How did this Chesler person kill Zelda?"

"She was teaching some classes at Adams and his nephew was in her class," Willard whispered as he clung to his grandmother and sobbed. "Zelda failed him and she wouldn't change his grade even when Mr. Chesler went to her and tried to bribe her so he sent her a basket full of poisoned fruit. She never suspected a thing. Granny, she was so good! She could never imagine someone being so evil! Why did she die?"

"Sweetheart, it's going to be alright," Harmonia whispered. 'I'm home now and I promise that I'll fix everything!"

"She ate an apple and died," Willard muttered, "They said it was a heart attack! He got away with killing her!"

"A poisoned apple. Isn't anyone original anymore?" Harmonia muttered as she stood up. "You never hear of a poisoned pear or a poisoned banana."

"What are you talking about?" Willard asked. His grandmother didn't seem to be taking this matter seriously at all. How could she sound so unconcerned when the woman that he loved was gone forever? He had never had a chance to let her know how much he still cared for her after their breakup. Why had he ever let her go in the first place? She was the best thing that had ever happened to him and now he would never see her again.

"Willard, dear, it will be alright," Harmonia said with a smile as she kissed his forehead. "I'll get your Zelda back for you. Just please try not to goof things up this time, dear."

"Get her back? She's dead," Willard whispered. What in the world was his grandmother talking about? Had she lost her mind or maybe he had lost his and he was hearing things.

"Actually, she isn't. She's just asleep," Harmonia said as she turned a small golden ring on her finger and suddenly transformed from an elderly woman into a girl who appeared to be no more than eighteen. She had long red hair, bright green eyes and was clad in a blue slip dress. "It's a Snow White spell. Totally unoriginal. Take one poisoned apple and serve. It doesn't even have to be a specific poison. It just has to be on an apple." Just then she noticed the shocked expression on Willard's face. "Willard, dear, I'm a witch."

Willard struggled with this information. He had always believed that witches didn't exist but what else could explain his grandmother's sudden youth? Just then something occurred to him. If she really was a witch, then maybe she was right about Zelda not being dead. Maybe there was still a chance that she could be saved!

"Zelda! Granny, we have to...."

"We're going to go and help her now. Where is she? I'm surprised that her sister hasn't already done something."

"Hilda and Sabrina were out of town when it happened," Suddenly a horrible thought occurred to Willard when he remembered the awful event that he had just came from. "They buried her! Mr. Chesler paid someone off and through a rushed funeral together! She's...."

"Willard, don't panic. She'll be alright," Harmonia said as she tried to calm him. "She's fast asleep right now. Being buried won't hurt her. She won't know a thing about it. Let's just get over to the cemetery and free her."


	3. Chapter 3

When Harmonia and Willard appeared in the cemetery, they found Miles kneeling on the upturned earth sobbing.

"Who's that?" Harmonia asked as they slowly approached. She hadn't planned on any mortals being present.

"Some student of Zelda's. He was at the funeral this morning. I think he had a crush on her or something," Willard said as he struggled to hold back tears. He wanted to believe what his grandmother had told him about how Zelda would be alright but that was hard to accept when he had seen her still body lowered into the ground only hours before.

"I can't believe you're gone," Miles whispered. "There are so many things that I wanted to tell you. It's not fair. Why did you have to die?"

Just then Miles noticed Harmonia, who had silently crept up on him. "Who are...." he started to ask just as Harmonia pointed and a blank look suddenly appeared on his face. "What am I doing in the cemetery?"

"You were just taking a walk dear," Harmonia said with a smile. "Now don't you think it's time for you to go home?"

"Home?" Miles muttered. Something important was tickling at the back of his mind. "But there's something about Professor Spellman, something important that I ought to remember."

"Professor Spellman is at home with the flu this week, dear," Harmonia said as she took his arm and started to lead him away from the grave. "She wants you to do the next four chapters in your textbook while she's out. That's what you're trying to remember."

"You know, something about what you just did seems very familiar for some reason," Willard said as Miles finally left and Harmonia joined him at the grave.

"I'm not surprised," Harmonia muttered as she pointed at the grave but nothing happened. "Well, I see Mr. Chesler is very cheap with his murder victims. A plastic coffin? Really! With his money, couldn't he spring for wood?"

"What's wrong with plastic?" Willard asked. He hadn't been pleased with the coffin Zelda had been placed in himself but from how his grandmother was talking, it seemed something else was wrong with the coffin besides poor taste.

"Certain plastics block magic, dear, so I can't just zap her up," Harmonia explained as she pointed at a pair of shovels laying nearby. They jumped to attention and a moment later the dirt was flying as the started to open the grave. "We might as well sit down. This might take awhile."


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as the coffin was visable, Willard scrambled into the grave and started to struggle to with the catch.

"Willard, be careful!" Harmonia cried as she followed him into the grave. "You'll hurt youself!"

"Zuzu?" Willard whispered as he pulled the coffin open. Tears filled his eyes when he saw her. Zelda lay there still and deathly pale. She was dressed in a demure black dress that made the white of her skin seem even worse. Willard reached out with a trembling hand and touched her face. She was so cold. It wasn't fair. How could she be gone after all?

"Willard, it's alright. Here. Feel," Harmonia said in a soothing voice as she took her grandson's hand and placed it on Zelda's chest. He started to pull away. Somehow it didn't seem right for him to touch her in that way, but suddenly he felt her chest tremble under his fingers.

"Zuzu?" he whispered as tears of relief started to roll down his cheeks as he gathered Zelda into his arms and held her closely against him. She was so cold! "Granny, we have to get her home!"

"Right," Harmonia said as she pointed at the shovels and they started to begin refilling the grave as she pointed Willard, Zelda and herself back home.

"Zuzu? Please wake up," Willard whispered as he laid Zelda down on the couch. "She's so cold!"

"Here. These should help," Harmonia said as she pointed up a pile of magically heated blankets and started to cover Zelda with them. "Willard, kiss her."

"Kiss her?" Willard asked as he knelt by the couch and took Zelda's hand.

"That's how you break a Snow White spell," Harmonia said with a smile. "Go ahead! Kiss her!"

Willard leaned forward and his lips brushed Zelda's. He felt so awkward, like a teenage boy on his first date. Slowly, he deepened the kiss, warming her cold lips with his own. Suddenly he felt a bit of movement and he looked down as Zelda's eyes slowly opened. "Zuzu," he whispered as he smiled at her before he brought his lips down on Zelda's again and gave her the kiss he had been waiting almost a year to give her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Willard?" Zelda murmured as the kiss ended. She was confused. She hadn't seen Willard in almost a year so what was she doing laying on his couch being kissed by him and why was she so cold?

"It's alright, Zuzu," Willard said in a soothing tone as he tucked the blankets in around her. He didn't think that now was the time to let her know exactly what had happened to her. ''You had a little accident but you're going to be fine. Just relax and let me take care of you."

"What happened?" Zelda whispered as she started to shiver. For some reason it was extremely hard for her to think and she had to struggle to make her mind focus. Just then she caught sight of Harmonia and frowned. She was the one who had broke up with Willard but the thought that he had found someone else sent an odd pain through her heart.

"Zelda, it's alright," Willard said as he took her hand and gently kissed her forehead. "That idiot Phillip Chesler gave you a bad apple that made you sick but you're going to be just fine. I'm going to take care of you. I love you, Zelda."

"Willard, maybe we should get her into bed where she'll be more comfortable," Harmonia said as she came over to the couch. She frowned as she remembered the dress Zelda was wearing and with a quick point changed her outfit into a long, warm cotton nightgown. "There! I'm sure that's much more comfortable. Would you like some nice hot soup? It would help warm you up a little faster."

Zelda stared at Harmonia in shock. Who was this woman? She was obviously a witch but what was she doing performing magic so openly in front of Willard? Even more importantly, why didn't Willard seem upset by it? She had always been afraid that he would have a nervous breakdown if he ever found out about her magic.

"It's alright," Harmonia said with a smile as she patted Zelda's other hand reasuringly. "I'm his grandmother."

Zelda was even more shocked by this news. How could Willard's grandmother be a witch? She knew that he didn't have any magical powers!

"It's a very long story. I'll explain later," Harmonia said as she realized what Zelda was thinking. "Now let's get you to bed and warmed up."


	6. Chapter 6

"Here you go," Willard said as he carried Zelda into his bedroom and tucked the covers snuggly around her. He was definately glad now that he had cleaned his room and changed the sheets the day before Zelda's "death." Ever since then, he had been too depressed to do anything but sit on the couch in tears so his room was nice and neat for Zelda. The room was rather plain with brown pine furniture and a thick plaid comforter covering the bed. The only interesting things were the photos: several of Harmonia in her older disguise, several more of two young girls and a large photo of Zelda in a silver frame on the bedside table.

"Here you go," Harmonia said as she came in carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of soap on it. "Nice hot chicken soup. This should make you feel a whole lot better."

"Thank you," Zelda murmered as Willard settled her back against the pillows. Then he pulled a chair over to her side, took the tray and started to spoon the soup into her.

"Willard, I can feed myself," she said as she started to shiver more violently as the hot soup hit her stomach.

"Not with how hard you're shaking," Willard said as he gently kissed her forehead before starting to feed her again. "You just relax and let me take care of you."

A little bit later Willard had finished feeding Zelda the soup. She laid back as Willard pulled the covers up around her and started to fuss over her. She felt much warmer now but she was so sleepy. As her eyes started to slip shut, she suddenly remembered Hilda and Sabrina. She doubted that they knew where she was and they would be so worried about her.

"Hilda?" Zelda murmered.

"Don't you worry, I'll call your sister for you. Just rest. I love you, Zelda," Willard whispered as he kissed Zelda's forehead as she drifted off to sleep.

"Willard, why don't you stay with her?" Harmonia said with a smile as her grandson took Zelda's hand. "I'll go and call her sister."


	7. Chapter 7

Hilda lay in the couch sobbing. She couldn't believe that something this horrible had happened. She had gone away with Sabrina to visit relatives in the Other Realm for the weekend only to learn when they arrived home a few hours before that her sister had died, not only died but had already been buried. Her tears flowed even harder when she thought of that. It wasn't fair. She would never see Zelda again, never hear her disapproving voice. How could Zelda have had a heart attack? She was so young! Only 652 years old!

"Aunt Hilda, do you think we should call Grandma and let her know what happened?" Sabrina whispered. She was in total shock. She couldn't believe that her aunt was gone just like that. She wanted to collapse and cry until she had no more tears left but she forced herself to remain strong. Hilda had totally fallen apart when they had got the awful news. Sabrina had to be strong for her aunt now.

"I don't know," Hilda muttered as she slowly sat up. She knew that she needed to call her mother and let her know what had happened but she couldn't bring herself to make the call. Telling her mother that Zelda was gone would make the tragedy even more real. What was Hilda going to do without her big sister? She needed Zelda! How could Zelda have died and left her alone like this? It wasn't fair! How could she go on without her?

Just then the phone rang. As Hilda reached for it, she thought about how Zelda had died. Her poor sister had been all alone when it happened. Why had she ever went to visit those relatives? If she had stayed at home where she had belonged, maybe Zelda would still be here. Even if Hilda couldn't have saved her sister, she could have held her hand and told her how much she loved her before she slipped away.

"Hello?" she said as she fought back even more tears.

"Hello, this is Mrs. Kraft," Harmonia said, "Is this...."

Hilda slammed down the phone as soon as she heard the name Kraft. She never wanted to speak to a member of that family again. How could they call here and bother her when she was suffering from this monsterous tragedy?


	8. Chapter 8

Harmonia frowned as she put the phone down. Really! She knew that Hilda thought she was in the midst of a crisis but that was really no reason to be rude! She pointed with a frown. It looked like she was going to have to do things the hard way.

*******

"Who was that?" Salem asked as he hopped onto the couch beside Hilda.

"Willard's grandmother, I think," Hilda said as she glared angerly at the phone. "I hung up when I heard the name Kraft."

"You hung up on her?" Salem moaned as he covered his face with his paws. They were in very big trouble.

Suddenly a wave of golden sparkles washed over the three and they vanished only to reappear a moment later in the Krafts' living room.

"Harmonia, I didn't have anything to do with it!" Salem called as he jumped into the red haired witch's arms and started to purr in what he hoped was a pleasing manner. "You know, I don't have to stay with them. I could come live with you and be your cat. Has your grandson forgot about that little incident where I ran him down yet?"

"Only with the use of strong spells," Harmonia muttered as she petted Salem. "Salem, you know there's a reason why they don't let cats have driver's licenses. It's because they can't see over the steering wheel!"

"A minor technicality," Salem purred. "Just remember that I had nothing to do with Hilda's rudeness. I look horrible in scales!"

"You're a witch?" Hilda muttered as she and Sabrina stared at Harmonia is shock. This was impossible! How could Willard's grandmother be a witch? Willard was a total loser without the smallest trace of magic!

"Of course she's a witch," Salem said. "Say, Harmonia, do you think you could zap them into something in the rodent family?"

"Salem, rudeness doesn't call for zapping. Well, unless you're my daughter-in-law that is," Harmonia said with a frown. "Or possibly that fellow at the ice cream store who never gets my order right and who skimps on fudge."

"Um, could I ask what you called us about?" Sabrina asked. She thought they better see what this witch wanted and get out of there as fast as possible while they were still walking on two feet. Their family didn't need more than one tragedy in the same day.

"Oh, that." Harmonia said as she frowned at Hilda. "I just wanted to let you know that your sister's alright and that she would be home as soon as she's feeling a bit better."

"What? Zelly's.... But they told us she was dead!" Hilda whispered. She was struggling to hold back tears as she said her sister's name. If only what this witch was telling them was true!

"She ate a poisoned apple and wound up under a Snow White spell. People are so unimaginative anymore. Why must they always poison an apple?" Harmonia grumbled before getting back to the subject. "Don't worry. Willard and I freed her. She's just fine."

"Where is she?" Hilda cried. She wanted to ask more questions and find out who had poisoned her sister but not until she had seen with her own eyes that Zelda was alright.

"Right this way. She's asleep right now." Harmonia said as she led them to Willard's room. "Oh, we didn't tell her about the spell and the being buried alive thing yet. I wouldn't say anything if I were you."

"Right. We wouldn't want to give her a heart attack for real," Sabrina said as they slipped into the room.

The lights were off so the only illumination in the room was from the early evening moonlight coming through the window. Zelda was laying in bed with her golden hair spread over the pillows. The comforter and several blankets had been tucked snuggly around her to help her get warm. An angry expression filled Hilda's face when she saw the other thing on the bed though. Willard had laid down next to Zelda and he was holding the bundled up witch in his arms and humming a lullaby.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hilda hissed as she stormed over. She wanted to drag him away from her sister but she didn't want to disturb things too much and cause Zelda to wake up.

"She started shivering. I thought it might help her a little if I held her for awhile," Willard whispered. Normally the hostile expression on Hilda's face would have worried him but right now all he cared about was Zelda and making sure that she was alright.

"Uh, Hilda, I don't think you want to do anything," Salem purred in her ear as he jumped from Harmonia's arms onto the blonde witch's neck. He could see that Hilda was just itching to zap Willard into something. "I really don't think you need to tick off a three thousand year old witch."


	9. Chapter 9

Hilda and Sabrina followed Harmonia back to the living room with Hilda shooting evil glances back at Willard's room the entire way. She couldn't believe that that.... that... principal was in bed with her sister and she was powerless to stop him. Zelda would probably get cooties or something.

"So, do you know who poisoned Aunt Zelda?" Sabrina asked. She figured that focusing on that might distract Hilda from how upset she was about Willard holding Zelda and keep her from getting zapped. Sabrina had been a bit upset by it herself but surprisingly she wasn't as upset as she would have been a year ago. Maybe it was because he didn't have any authority over her anymore or maybe it was because of how concerned he seemed for her aunt and how tenderly he was treating her. Sabrina shook her head. She couldn't believe it but she thought she was getting soft about Willard Kraft.

"Yes, it was Phillip Chesler, that annoying little cheerleader's father. Apparently Zelda failed his nephew and he sent her a poisoned fruit basket."

"Libby's dad. Why am I not surprised?" Sabrina muttered.

"Come on, Sabrina. I think it's time we pay a little visit to Mr. Chesler and teach him that he can't hurt Zelda and get away with it!" Hilda cried. If she couldn't zap Willard, she would just have to settle for turning Phillip Chesler into a toad.


End file.
